


Sometimes Space Is The Stuff Of Nightmares

by Cosmicklance17



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Childhood Trauma, Crying, Fluff and Angst, Galra Empire, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Keith & Shiro (Voltron) are Adoptive Siblings, Keith (Voltron) Whump, M/M, Nightmares, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Vomiting, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-05-12 16:54:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19233250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cosmicklance17/pseuds/Cosmicklance17
Summary: Keith has nightmares. He always has. Unfortunately, hurtling through space and fighting off a genocidal alien empire has only given his brain new material to torment him with.In which Keith keeps having nightmares and the team is there to help.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!! This is legitimately the first fan fiction I have written for anything since 2014, so please go easy on me!! I have somewhat of an idea of where I want to take this story, and how I want Keith and his relationships with the rest of the team to develop, but any notes or requests are appreciated! I'm not sure if or how much klance will be featured in this but there will probably be some, and if not I'll definetely write some in the future! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!!

Keith opened his eyes. He was in space. 

Alone, helpless, and floating fruitlessly, Keith realized he was clothed in nothing but his undersuit. He wondered how he was breathing. As though he'd willed it into existence, Keith felt his airways close as his last breath was suctioned out in a horror-stricken scream. His lungs felt like delicate balloons as they began to deflate, and his exposed skin crystallized over. All Keith could do was stare in pure, unwavering horror. 

Suddenly, in the soundless depths of space, he heard his name being called. He couldn't discern who it was, or whether their allegiance was good or bad, but in the moment he did not care. He'd rather be captured and on a ship than slowly suffocating in nothingness. He tried to answer the voice, but nothing came out. He felt like an empty husk as every ounce of oxygen slithered from his grasp and his brain began to shut down. His last conceivable thought was how badly he wished he could scream. 

Keith! Cried the voice as he felt himself slip away. 

"-eith...Keith!"

And suddenly he could breathe again.

With a start, Keith grabbed the arm of whatever was touching his face, using all his sudden strength to shove away the figure. It fell to the floor of his dust ridden room with a loud thump. 

Keith lunged for the knife on his bedside table, poised and ready for a fight despite being drenched in eight layers of sweat and still half asleep. 

"Mierda," uttered the figure through a pained whisper. Keith felt his heart drop as the voice sparked recognition in the back of his sleep-starved brain. "Lance?" 

"Yeah! Jesus, Keith. What the fuck was that?" Keith tossed his knife on his nightstand and went to help a very shaken Lance to his feet. He cringed inwardly at how clammy his hands must have been as he witnessed Lance wipe away sweat on his t-shirt. 

"I was just having a bad dream, I guess, so I woke up to something touching me and freaked out, I guess." 

Keith was suddenly hyper aware of how soaked his clothes were. He began to feel chilly. Lance marched over to the light switch, dimming it so it was bright enough to see but not too overwhelming. He spun around to face Keith, looking irritated, or maybe...concerned. 

They stood facing each other, a comfortable distance between them as Lance proceeded to question his teammate awkwardly. 

"Look, dude, are you okay after...all that?" 

Confused, Keith met his eyes, reading no answers from Lance's. 

"What do you mean?" 

"Keith, you were like...screaming. A lot. I could hear you all the way across the hall. At first I thought you were being attacked. I had to use the override code to get into your room, and you were just...in bed kicking and screaming and talking in your sleep."

Keith felt his face heat up, much to the contrast of his stone cold skin. "Oh. I, uh. Sorry you had to hear that. I didn't mean to wake you. But yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Keith reassured Lance, unconvincingly. In all sincerity, he did not feel close to fine. His sweaty clothes were getting more and more uncomfortable by the minute. His heart felt like it was going to squeeze out of his chest from the pure pressure of anxiety, and he was shaking down to his bones. His limbs were subtly twitching against his will, and his stomach was churning, preparing for an eventual bout of nausea he hoped would never come. 

"Alright...if you say so," replied Lance, unsure. "Do you want me to stay here for a little bit, or should I go get Shiro?" 

Although Keith appreciated the sentiment, he didn't want to wake his exhausted brother unless it was a dire emergency. On the alternative, the idea of Lance watching him sleep was just…weird. 

"No, I'll be okay. I'm just gonna try to go back to sleep and get some rest. Thanks a lot though, Lance," although the whole interaction had been insanely awkward, Keith honestly did appreciate Lance's concern. He was being strangely sincere and gentle, which was out of character and disobeyed the laws of their dynamic. He had to put an end to it. 

"Okay, well if you need anything I'm right across the hall. Honestly, I'm surprised I'm the only one that heard you. But then again the others sleep stronger than the space mice," quipped Lance. Keith let out a breath of air that resembled a laugh. With that, Lance left Keith alone in his dim room. 

Sleeping was not an option for Keith after a nightmare. It never had been. His body and brain needed time to process and come down from the initial shock, and sitting still only made him feel more vulnerable and helpless. After changing into a fresh pair of clothes, Keith exited his room quietly and headed for the training deck.


	2. Chapter 2

"Initiate level seventeen," Keith demanded with urgency, his voice hoarse from all the screaming he'd presumably done in his sleep. He knew Lance often slept with noise cancelling headphones, so the idea that his nightmares could even wake the other boy were deeply concerning. He tried not to dwell on the thought as three bots charged at him with double edged broadswords. 

Teeming with anxiety, Keith focused all of his impulses on blocking, and channeled every ounce of adrenaline for offense. The bots had him surrounded, which meant he had to be faster than all three of them combined. As he stabbed one through the crumpling exterior, he used the other end of his staff to knock one of the others off their feet. His simple strategy worked until he ducked to avoid a swing. Without hesitation, one of the other bots mercilessly scratched its way along the side of Keith's left arm with the sharp edge of its broadsword. 

"Aughh-" Keith screamed pitifully, falling to his knees and clutching his bleeding arm. The bot that Keith had ducked to avoid slammed the side of their sword into his ribs, and knocked him to the ground with one swift kick to the head. Keith tasted metal in his mouth. The bot that rendered the attack on his arm chose to add insult to injury by stepping on his hand. Lastly, the final bot hovered over him, broadsword raised for the fatal attack.

Pinned, bleeding, and sucked dry of adrenaline, Keith gasped weakly as his eyes met the fine edge of the bot's broadsword. He really, really shouldn't have turned the safety off. 

"End training sequence!" Screamed a voice. 

The bots lording over him disapperated, and Keith's ragged sigh of relief transformed into a whimper. He was pretty sure his hand was broken, and his same arm was still searing from the fresh cut. His ribs ached, his muscles felt like water weights, and exhaustion had finally claimed him. 

"What the FUCK Keith!" Shouted a tall, lanky figure as they rushed to the bleeding boy's aid. Their words were harsh, but they were gentle as they knelt down to cup Keith's head and help him sit up. 

"L-lance?" Keith muttered weakly. 

"Yeah man, it's me," replied Lance, slightly softer than before. Keith's scull felt like it was pushing out the back of his head, and deep down he knew that Lance's hand was the only thing supporting it.

"Do you think you can sit up a bit more for me?" Lance asked gently, still practically cradling him.

"Can't--move," responded Keith. "Too tired." His eyelids began to fall closed. 

"Hey, hey, can you stay awake for just one quick second? I wanna see if you can move your fingers," Lance explained. Keith barely caught onto his words, but once his brain processed Lance's request, he tried to move them. His attempts did nothing but lead to another desperate cry as a shockwave of pain raced up and down his entire arm. 

"Yeah, okay, healing pod it is," Lance declared. He must have activated the comms, because Keith heard him yell for Shiro and Coran.

Panicked, but still disoriented, Keith reached out to Lance with his one good arm. 

"No...not Shi.." 

"What was that?" Asked Lance with a nurturing tone, his own panic shielded by patience.

"Not…no-- not Shiro. Don't tell Shiro…" 

And with that, Keith felt all his weight sink into Lance's arms as he lost consciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for reading! I'm really not good at writing training/fight sequences but I tried my best!! Sorry for any grammar or spelling errors, but I'm running on 3 hours of sleep over the last two days (,: we love college orientation. Anyway, I've decided on a general plot and conflict, featuring some soon to come twists and turns and tons more action....plus lots more loving Lance. Again, thanks for reading, and I'll see y'all the next time I update!!!


	3. Chapter 3

"Lance! What happened?" Demanded Shiro as he ran onto the training deck and spotted an unconscious Keith sprawled across Lance's lap. Coran was right behind him, the same grave concern etched across his aging face. 

"I- Keith had a really bad dream earlier," Lance babbled as Shiro knelt to examine his brother. "He was kind of freaking out, so I went in to check on him but he said he was fine so I left but stayed up just in case he wasn't, then I heard him leave his room and I wasn't sure if I should follow him or not, but then I was like what if he's doing something dumb? What if he's sleepwalking and leaves in a pod or opens the airlock? What if-" 

"Lance," interrupted Shiro. "Calm down. Take a deep breath. We need to get Keith to the infirmary immediately. He looks pretty beat up. You can explain the rest to me on the way." 

"Okay, uh, yeah. Sure." responded Lance, embarrassed by his time-wasting tangent. Now that Keith was unresponsive, Lance could feel his resolve shattering. He sensed it in the trembling of his voice, in the cold shock running up and down his skin, and in Shiro's urgent tone. 

"I'll run ahead and prepare a healing pod," said Coran. He marched off toward the med bay, pressing his finger to the comms: "Allura, there's been a slight emergency." 

"I can carry him," Shiro told Lance, reaching his arms out. Glancing down at his still form, Lance maneuvered Keith into Shiro's arms. Blood was still dripping from the slice left by the broadsword, and despite Keith's shivering, beads of sweat had broken out across his face. Shiro used his prosthetic limb to gently support his little brother's head, wrapping his flesh arm under Keith's knees. When Shiro pulled him close to his chest, Keith grimaced. His whole body twitched awkwardly, as if he'd been shocked. A pained whimper made it past his lips. 

Stunned, both Lance and Shiro eyed him with concern, but Keith simply went limp again. 

Sighing, Shiro began to walk toward the med bay as Lance trudged awkwardly behind him. 

"Now, what happened?" Asked Shiro, sternly, yet without malice.

Lance gave a disjointed explanation of how he'd come to find Keith collapsed and bleeding on the floor of the training deck. He witnessed Shiro stiffen when he revealed that the safety protocols were deactivated and the bots were all the way up to level seventeen. 

"That's three of them at ONCE," groaned Shiro. "What the hell was he doing?" 

Lance, Keith and Shiro finally made it to the infirmary, greeted by Coran hurriedly pushing buttons to program a pod, and Allura perched on the control panel in sweats and a messy bun. Both the alteans glanced up when Shiro entered, and Allura gasped in horror at the state of Keith. 

"What happened to him?"

Lance re-explained the events of the night as Allura's expression grew stern. Behind them, a pod door slid open. 

"Okay, let's get him inside," called Coran. Shiro marched toward the pod, cradling Keith, as Lance and Allura swarmed behind him. 

"I honestly don't think we should allow him to train for a while after this-" proclaimed Allura, but she ceased her thought as Keith let out a deafening, pained cry and began thrashing violently in Shiro's arms. 

"Woah- hey, Keith- it's me Shi-" 

Keith's eyes shot open as he desperately tried to free himself from his brother's grasp. 

"Let me GO! LET GO!-" he screamed, flailing his limbs and crying desperately like a scared child. His panicked sobs echoed off the ship's walls.

Lance was paralyzed. 

Stunned and terrified, Shiro's one second of bewilderment was all Keith needed to shove himself out from Shiro's hold. He fell to the ground gracelessly, his head slamming against the hard floor after landing on the elbow of his injured arm. 

His cries of pain morphed into cries of panic as Shiro bent down pull him to his feet. 

"NO! NO-NO NO" protested Keith as Shiro gently grasped him under the arms and hauled him to a standing position. He shook his head desperately, refusing to meet Shiro's gaze and allowing his legs to go limp. 

Lance was watching just feet away, feeling stuck inside his body and unable to move. Allura was standing next to him, still and petrified. 

"Keith, please listen-" Shiro practically begged as his brother fought against him. "It's us. You're safe. You're okay. You're injured, so you need to go in a pod. Please don't-" 

Keith kicked furiously at Shiro, who stumbled slightly backward, losing his grip on Keith. Keith backed as far away as he could, slamming against the outer edge of the pod. His breathing grew heavier as he unleashed a fresh bash of tears. Shiro used his body to block him in. 

"I'm sorry," Shiro apologized, his voice cracking. Keith gave a startled cry as he was whisked up by the sides and placed effortlessly into the pod. 

Before he could protest any more, the doors whisked shut.

All eyes turned to the control panel, where Coran stood, his hand hovering over the button. 

"I'm sorry, but I had to. We can't risk him injuring himself more than he already has." 

Shiro exhaled, falling back to sit on the floor.

"Thank you Coran," he said, and with that, whatever spell that hovered over Lance and Allura was diminished, and the two slowly approached Shiro. His eyes hadn't left the pod. 

"What was that." was all he said as he lowered his head to his hands. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for reading! I decided sort of last minute that I wanted to write a chapter from the other characters' perspectives of the situation, and I really enjoyed it! Poor Shiro needs a vacation though.


	4. Chapter 4

The last thing Keith remembered was trying to focus on Lance’s stern face, then everything had dissolved into darkness. 

Keith re-opened his eyes. The pain in his body was gone. Instead, it had been replaced by an unsettling numbness; as if his body no longer existed, as if it no longer belonged to him. 

Again, he was alone in a black void. At least this time he could feel his feet planted firmly on the ground, so he knew he wasn’t floating in space. 

Keith spun around timidly, only to be greeted by more empty nothingness. He reached out to feel for a wall, or an object, or even a person, but he was met with nothing. 

“Hello?” he cried, his own echo dried and drowned out. There was no reply. 

“Why is this fucking happening again?” he groaned to himself. 

As if to answer, a spark of warm, magenta light manifested in the distance. 

Keith watched as the flames danced, an alluring swarm of color, illuminating nothing but drawing him in nonetheless. He began to walk toward it, holding his breath, as if he’d accidentally blow out the flame if he opened his mouth. Keith finally arrived at the foreign source of light, his legs in a defensive stance, the purple blaze practically obscuring his vision. 

“What are you?” he whispered desperately. 

Keith reached his hand out to touch it. It didn’t feel like fire, more like tepid faucet water. The flames danced across his fingers, licking at his palm. He smiled. 

Then it grabbed him. 

Before Keith could think, a shredded purple hand lunged through the fire and grasped his wrist, digging it’s dirty, teeth-like nails into his skin. 

“Aughh-” he screamed in shock, his cries diluted and suffocated by the nothingness that surrounded him. 

The fire began to swim through the air as the same figure manipulating it tugged Keith along with them. 

“No-stop-” 

Another shriveled hand emerged underneath the fire, holding it to illuminate the face of Keith’s captor. 

It was a druid. 

“Oh shi-” 

He ducked helplessly as the druid tossed the flaming ball at him, which had lost it’s cool feel and radiated pulsing heat as it flew over his head. Keith twisted his arm in the druid’s grasp as he attempted to dodge, earning him a horrifying crack as he felt his bones break. 

Keith screamed as the druid’s flame returned to it’s grasp as swiftly as a frisbee. He didn’t even try to dodge this time as it flew toward his face. He simply closed his eyes, purple shadows taunting him underneath his eyelids as he waited to burn away. 

The pain never came. 

When he opened his eyes again, his vision was blurred. All he could make out were shadows, and the unsteady hum of voices. Someone was carrying him. 

In that moment, Keith decided he’s had enough. Panic and instinct took over as he began to scream and thrash against whoever was holding him. 

“LET ME GO! LET GO-” he cried, managing to to loosen their grasp as the figure dropped him on the floor. His head hit the concrete and his vision swam even more. 

“NO! NO-NO NO” Keith stammered as the figure bent down and grasped Keith under his arms, hauling him to his feet. He allowed for his legs to go completely limp, stunning the creature and using his own body weight against him. 

It wasn’t enough. Keith struggled, kicking and screaming fruitlessly until the figure dropped him again. He crawled away until his back met a hard surface. He was trapped. He was lost. There was nowhere else to go from here. 

The figure snatched him by the sides and threw him into some kind of tube, shutting the door and leaving him in darkness until his skin iced over.

Keith lost consciousness once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 0: ouch


End file.
